Club Activities
Christmas Party 2016

Group picture
We braved the snow and had a great time at the Westport Flea Market. After lunch, we had a mystery gift exchange which contained several rocks, a rock painting kit, jewelry, a book about rocks, and much more. See you in January!
Joplin Mining Equipment
In November 2016, we went to see Marv Dahmen’s collection of vintage Joplin/Tri-State mining equipment and minerals. He talked about it for 5 hours but there was never a dull moment. We managed to record some of it, although it was so long Stephanie and David ran out of space on their phones. Here are some photos.

Everyone listening to Marv. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Ore buckets as far as the eye can see! Photo by David Reed

Ore crusher. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Most of the things outside are from the Picher Museum. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Ore buckets, a crucible, and one of the only 2 remaining drill bit buckets. They were sold for scrap metal when the Picher Museum was having hard times. Marv got them from the scrap metal place. Photo by Stephanie Reed

This is not an ore bucket. This is a dewatering bucket. Photo by Stephanie Reed

The inside of a dewatering bucket has a plunger inside. Photo by Stephanie Reed

A drill. Photo by David Reed

Photo by David Reed

Calcium carbide and some lamps. Photo by David Reed

These long scoops are used to clean out the holes before putting in the dynamite. If you hit some debris while loading the dynamite it might explode. Photo by David Reed

Wooden paddles for opening boxes of dynamite. It is too dangerous to use a metal implement. Photo by David Reed

Lamps, containers of carbide, and mortars and pestles. Photo by David Reed

An impressive display of blasting caps. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Guy’s dropper lamps. These were used before carbide lamps were invented. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Marv in his workshop. On the table are some slabs that will soon be cut into cabs, and there is a curved plate that can be coated with ink and used to label boxes of Hercules dynamite (with removable plates for dates, lot numbers, etc.). Bucyrus Erie is a mining equipment company. Photo by David Reed

Marv also makes jewelry. Photo by David Reed

Some of his freshly tumbled rocks. Photo by David Reed

Part of Marv’s rock collection. Photo by David Reed

Lots of Owyhee Jasper from Oregon and Idaho. Photo by David Reed

A device for crimping blasting caps. It is extremely rare. Photo by David Reed

This is a pigtail, which is a blacksmith-made hook for ore buckets. It is specially curved so that the bucket won’t fall off while it is being raised up. Photo by David Reed
Thank you Marv for inviting us on your property and into your home to see your amazing collection!
Gem Show Pictures Fall 2016

The Gem and Mineral Show was once again at the KCI Expo Center

The view from behind the Association booth.

This yellow geode is from Keokuk in St. Francisville. They call it “Lemoness”.

This huge crinoid (Scyphocrinites elegans) fossil is from Morocco.

There were also fossils from Kansas available.

Plenty of beads for sale at the show.

Fossil Brittle Star from Morocco, sold by Schooler’s Minerals. Fun fact: a brittle star is from the class Ophiurida and starfish are from the class Asteroidea, so they are not really related to starfish at all.

Bob models an official Association apron and holds a pufferfish.

The preserved pufferfish close up. It is hollow and light as a feather. I don’t think anyone bought it so it will be for sale again in March.

Some of the mineral, fossil, and jewelry-related books we had for sale this year.

Carved skulls made of semi-precious minerals.

Is this a giant dinosaur showing off a giant agate, or a very small dinosaur with a tiny agate?

Martin selling pottery that he made

Everything is packed up into our big blue cube until the next show.
November Field Trips
Our November meeting will be Saturday, November 19. On that day, you can choose from two great field trip opportunities!
Choice #1: Meet at the Firefighter’s Memorial (87th & Blue River) at 10:00 am to collect fossils, then come to the regular meeting at noon at the Kansas City Public Library.
Choice #2: Meet at the Praying Hands Memorial (Hwy 171 and Dawson Dr) in Webb City, MO at 12:30 pm. It’s about 2 hours from downtown Kansas City, so don’t be late! From there, we will drive together to see Marve’s collection of vintage mining equipment. This is a large collection that cannot be seen anywhere else. RSVP to Bruce Stinemetz.
Lapidary Class
Joplin Field Trip 2016

Mardell, Kerry, and Roy. Photo by Molly Stinemetz.

Janice and Mike looking for rocks. Photo by Molly Stinemetz.

Bruce Stinemetz presenting a donation from the Friends of Mineralogy to Brad Belk, Director of the Joplin Museum Complex. Photo by Molly Stinemetz.
Some rockhounds went on a field trip to Joplin, MO in September 2016. They looked for rocks and went to the Joplin Museum Complex, where they gave the museum a donation from the Friends of Mineralogy, which is a national non-profit group of people who love studying minerals. Many of our rockhounds are members of multiple clubs, including this one. The Friends of Mineralogy make donations such as this one because they are a 501(c)(3) organization and because the Joplin museum is really cool and deserves it.
Congratulations Scholarship Winners
Every year, the Midwest Federation offers scholarships to students studying geology or earth science related fields at the college or post-graduate level. If you purchased anything at the Scholarship Auction at the March Gem & Mineral Show in Kansas City, or at the auction at the Association Picnic in August, then you contributed to these scholarships. Thank you!
Dr. William S. Cordua is a retired professor from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Cordua is the chair of the Geology committee of the Midwest Federation of Mineralogical and Geological Societies. Dr. Cordua has chosen the two students:
Ms. Kari Wolfe is pursuing her Masters degree in Nitrate Pollution in Tile Water in Dead Zones in the Gulf of Mexico, through the University of Wisconsin in Minneapolis.
Ms. Colleen Hoffman is pursuing her Ph.D. degree in Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry of Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vents, through the University of Wisconsin in Minneapolis.
For more information about the scholarships, including how to apply: http://www.amfed.org/mwf/federation/scholarships.html
Association Picnic 2016
The Association Picnic will be held Sunday, August 28th at Antioch Park, Shelter 3. Swap begins at 9am, picnic around 12:30-1:00pm, auction after lunch. Meats, drinks, plates, etc. will be provided by the Association. Please bring a potluck side dish (e.g. beans, chips, veggies, potato salad, etc.), and dessert. Also bring cash to spend at the auction, which benefits the scholarship fund. Everyone is welcome.
Delightful Daylilies

Photo by Stephanie Reed
The Snows had a delightful daylily party at their place this weekend! First there was food, then we viewed their amazing rock collection in their impeccably organized basement (complete with a fluorescent rock display that rivals several museums), then we saw their daylily garden and had a walk through the woods! There was even a real turtle in the yard! Ed brought some teeth for Martin to identify and there are some photos of the teeth. I didn’t know there were so many different shapes and colors of daylily so there are tons more photos on the Google+ here.
Since this is ostensibly a website about rocks and fossils, here’s a picture of two of the teeth. I don’t remember what Martin said they were.

Photo by David Reed